(Equestria Girls World)
BBRRRIIINNGGG!!!!
The sound of a school bell echoed not only around the campus, but also through Rainbow Dash’s head. Her eardrums almost threatened to burst, it was that shrill. And her growing headache did not approve, no matter how near or far she really was to the bell. The thunder of stampeding feet eager to get away from the bell didn’t help either. Especially once Rainbow Dash realised that the surface she was lying on was somehow vibrating with each second the stampede lasted.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the stampede faded into the afternoon and with it went the vibrations. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, that also meant that it was somehow safe for her to open her eyes. She didn’t want to, but unnatural forces seemed to have taken control of her body and were forcing her eyes to open for her. Of course, she resisted… or at least, tried to. But her efforts went in vain and she was forced to open her eyes with a groan, her brain trying to figure out what had happened all the while.
The last thing she remembered properly was being lifted into the air before the darkness closed in around her. To be honest, as her brain was in the early stages of waking up, she had gotten the feeling that she was now dead. She had no idea where that thought had come from, but she tried to keep herself from visibly showing that it had shaken her a little. Looking around, however, proved her wrong.
Somehow she had ended up in front of the school, and by the looks of it, dumped right next to the wondercolt statue. Everything looked as it should have… same castle-like school building, same arched pathway in front of the main stairs, same Canterlot High emblem statue out the front of the school. But then she turned to face the giant rearing horse she was next to. For some strange reason, the wondercolt horse looked cleaner than usual, definitely whiter. The statue’s base, on the other hand, looked just like it should have; worn with age and years of cleaned graffiti.
Finally turning herself over and managing to sit up with her legs out in front of her, Rainbow shimmied over to the base of the statue and started to run her hand along the surface. The statue felt cold to the touch and more than definitely solid – just like it should have right from the get go – but she couldn’t help but wonder why she was there in the first place.
Did whatever lift her up fail to get her across to wherever it was it wanted to take her? Or did it somehow manage to succeed in its task and had trapped her in a place so similar to what she already knew? Maybe she had been accidentally dropped in a place between what she knew and what she didn’t know? Going back to her death theory, was the afterlife really just another copy of her world, with everyone she knew copied from her memories and brought to life?
Yeah, she really hoped not. She didn’t want to be stuck as a high schooler for the rest of forever.
As fast as she could (which wasn’t that fast considering) Rainbow shuffled herself over to the back of the statue so that she was away from the road and thus had some sort of shelter behind her. It was tough work, but she was more concerned about how she was going to tackle the distance between her and the doors of the school without her wheelchair. Not to mention how she was going to get up those stairs without further damaging herself. In fact, those stairs were the biggest challenge so far.
That’s when she saw them. Three boys digging a hole near the front of the school. One was a little on the short side whilst his companions were clearly bigger and buffer than him. Even from her distance, Rainbow could tell that their clothes were all dirty and tacky. And if their clothes were like that, she didn’t want to imagine the stench. But the strange thing was that they reminded her suspiciously of the Diamond Brothers from back home.
Back home, the Diamond Brothers were the ‘elite’ of the school. Some even questioned why they were in a simple school like Canterlot High and not one of the posh boarding schools in the city or elsewhere in the country. They dressed elegantly. Their manners were over the top, but still a nice change to school life. They were more than willing to help a fellow student in need, even without having to be asked. And they would most likely have a heart attack if they ever had the misfortune of meeting these three boys.
Regardless of anything, Rainbow Dash knew that she would have to try her luck with those boys if she wanted to get anywhere.
“ Hey, you three! Get over here!” She called as loud as she could.
Surprisingly, her voice managed to carry over the empty school yard. Of course, the boys were sceptical at first, looking at each other in confusion, but they eventually agreed to go see what it was they were being called over for. Once they got to the wondercolt statue, however, Rainbow Dash noticed that they did not look pleased to see her. And judging by the empty hole in the ground with piles of dirt surrounding it and the shovel that the eldest (and biggest) boy had shouldered, they probably weren’t too pleased with having to leave their personal project behind them.
“ What rainbow girl want?” the smallest of the three asked rudely.
Something told Rainbow Dash to be careful just by hearing the tone of voice that the boy had used. But still she knew that she had to try. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I need help. Can you three get me up to the Principal’s office?”
“ What Diamond Dogs get back for help?”
That left her dumbstruck. These three boys definitely weren’t like the Diamond Brothers from back home. But still she steeled herself for any attacks that may occur. What happened, however, was not what she expected. Where she expected a fight to start, instead she found the three boys move away from her a few steps and begin to talk in a small huddle. The looks on those boys faces when they turned around made the blue skinned girl that nervous that she couldn’t even swallow down her negative feelings when she tried.
“ Rainbow girl no give shiny to Diamond Dogs, we no help rainbow girl.” The medium sized one stated as his brothers started to move back to their hole.
“ ‘Shiny’ hey?” the girl questioned, her brain already working on a way to get these boys to work for her. “ What if I say that I know where there are shiny things?”
That got the Diamond Dogs’ attentions.
A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash found herself being placed on the floor in front of the Principal’s and Vice Principal’s offices. A small row of chairs between two closed doors marked a waiting area, and there was a receptionist’s desk just to the left of one of the doors. As soon as the boys were gone (their curious need for shiny objects obviously taking a hold of them and leading them to the false hiding place that Rainbow had lied about in order to get to where she needed to go), Rainbow Dash shuffled her way over to the row of empty chairs and hoisted herself up.
It was fairly easy considering she had to do it all the time to get into her wheelchair, but it was still a nuisance. Especially because she didn’t like showing off the fact that she couldn’t use her legs (and this was despite the fact that she was in a wheelchair). In a wheelchair, she had something to stabilise her legs and keep them where she wanted them. Sitting on an ordinary chair, her legs kind of just hung there like the useless things they were. And she couldn’t control them properly. Also, she was more likely to fall off an ordinary chair than she was if she were strapped up to her wheelchair.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long before someone walked around the corner and noticed her. She was a dark woman with dark flowing hair and she wore an expression that showed she meant business. When she saw Rainbow Dash sitting in front of the offices, however, that look melted into something similar to confusion. It was obvious that she thought it strange to see Rainbow Dash sitting in front of the principal’s office and not passing a ball between her feet or standing there like she would usually do.
“ Is everything alright, Rainbow Dash?” the woman asked, shocking Rainbow in the sense that she was surprised that someone she didn’t know knew her name.
Despite portraying herself as confident, just looking up at this teacher made Rainbow Dash nervous. There was something imposing about her that she couldn’t quite put a name to. Not to mention the familiarity that seemed to waft off her like a faint haze. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. Right now, Rainbow needed to get some movement… and the only way she could get that was by somehow getting this teacher to either get her to see the principal or get her a wheelchair.
“ Rainbow Dash?” the woman asked again, bringing Rainbow out of her thoughts.
“ I, uh… need to see either Principal Sombra or Vice-Principal Discord.” She replied uncertainly.
“ Miss Dash, you should know there is no Principal Sombra or Vice-Principal Discord at this school, nor has there been in the time before my sister and I took office. In fact, I shudder to think of any man as crazy as that business tycoon ever taking my place and teaching today’s youths.”
“ Uh…”
“ Miss Dash, did you hit your head?” now concern seemed to seep into the woman’s voice as she sat down next to the rainbow haired girl.
“ Uh… I don’t know?” Surprisingly Rainbow’s voice came out as an unconfident squeak, portraying the turmoil that her mind was currently trying to sort out at that moment.
“ Okay, let us start simple. Why are you here? Did you need something?”
Those were reasonable enough questions. It also snapped Rainbow’s mind back on track. The faint image of her wheelchair slowly emerged from the depths of her befuddled brain; shining as if brand new. Mostly black in colour, the padding on the seat and back of the chair was a vibrant sky blue colour personalised with her rainbow lightning bolt logo on the back. Yes, it had handlebars despite being a self-propelled wheelchair, but she was more than okay with having them (when she was feeling lazy, she was more than willing to let Applejack push her around). Plus, she was able to strap her legs in place to stop them from flying around and being utterly useless. It even came with a detachable railing for soccer and other such sports that she was determined to excel at. Not to mention, it won races like a dream.
Before the teacher could question Rainbow’s silence, she spoke. “ I… I need my wheels.”
This stunned the older woman for a few seconds. “ I’m sure your ‘wheels’ would be in the carpark along with everyone else’s cars.”
“ No. I don’t mean… that is, I… I need a wheelchair.”
There. It was out. And, for some reason, Rainbow Dash found herself embarrassed to admit even that. Not to mention the confused look that she received in return just made her feel worse. With a sigh, the blue skinned girl took a deep breath and forced herself up onto her feet.
It freaked her out big time when she had to do this. No matter what anyone said about her looking calm as she did it. She couldn’t feel her legs at the best of times, so to put all your faith on useless limbs just felt wrong to her. In fact, it felt like someone had gone and chopped her in half at the waist and left her hanging for her life strapped in a bungy cord harness. Even now, she could feel herself wobble as her torso struggled to find something to hold her up.
Then, after about ten seconds of being up on her feet, Rainbow Dash collided face first into the tile patterned floor below her. She sensed rather than felt the awkward positions that her legs had crumpled into upon ground collision. Within a few more seconds, however, the dark skinned woman was by her side and helping her back onto the chair that she had once occupied. Somehow, she managed to avoid hitting her head as she fell, but it was still spinning from what had happened by the time the teacher straightened herself out.
“ I see you are not from around here. Rest while I go in search of a wheelchair for you. Then we can talk in my office.” The woman said as she started to leave. She must have forgotten something because she turned back to face Rainbow Dash a few seconds later. “ Oh, before I forget. Around here I am known as Vice-Principal Luna.”
Once more, Rainbow Dash was plunged into silence as she watched the now known Vice-Principal disappear around the corner she had appeared from previously. Yes, it gave her time to think about what was going on, but she also didn’t want to think. She knew that thinking would make her brain explode, and that would not be pretty. One just had to look at her to know that she was in enough turmoil at that moment.
In the end, she opted to sort out her current situation in darkness, closing her eyes to do so.
“ Rainbow Dash! There ya are!”
The sudden sound of a very familiar southern accent shocked the rainbow haired girl into opening her eyes and nearly jumping off the chair in fright. It didn’t take long for her fear filled eyes to land on the one person she thought she’d never see in this world, and her heart actually gave a bit of a flutter when she saw her. For, coming down the hallway like a monster was chasing her, was none other than Applejack.
A small smirk forced its way onto Rainbow’s face; a dash of seduction hidden within that only Applejack would notice. But the meaning was lost on the country girl who seemed more concerned about having found her friend than making sure her lover was safe. In fact, as Applejack got closer and sat down next to her, Rainbow could tell that she was choosing to ignore what she thought of as odd behaviour coming from her friend.
“ Where have you been, darling?” another voice sent chills running down Rainbow’s back and tried to force her to shy away from both girls.
Instead, she forced herself to look down the same hallway that Applejack had run down to meet her. Sure enough, making her own way down the hallway towards her, was the one person she least wanted to see. Rarity. As usual, the girl was wearing the latest fashion trends before everyone else even knew what was ‘in’. Today, she was wearing a long purple skirt (that looked like it was ready to trip its wearer as she ran down the hallway) and a white kimono style top. Cleverly designed lace ran the length of the arms from shoulder to wrist whilst an intricate pattern of purple flowers wove its way through the white fabric of the top.
Rainbow Dash was almost certain that Rarity had made the outfit herself, and she almost had to force herself away from how good the outfit looked on her despite how obvious it was that the outfit should never be worn while running. Almost, because that memory was hanging in the back of her mind, reminding her of what she had seen and why she was angry with Rarity in the first place. It was because of this that Rainbow decided it was best to just not talk to either one of the girls.
As soon as Rarity was standing next to Applejack, she pulled out her phone and instantly started texting the others on the whereabouts of Rainbow Dash. The others didn’t need to respond in order to let her know that they were on their way. She knew that they would all change course the second they had read the message.
But it was as she was placing her phone away again that she noticed the odd angle of Rainbow’s legs. The girl’s right foot was pointing inwards with her left foot pointing straight down as if attempting a solo pirouette without the rest of the body knowing. As the girl was sitting on a chair, this made her left leg lie on a relatively natural angle. But it was her right leg that seemed to be rebelling against the position, looking more like Rainbow was trying to sit cross-legged but not succeeding. It honestly looked quite awkward, but what was even weirder was that it didn’t seem to be bothering Dash in the slightest.
“ What’s goin’ on today, Dash?” Applejack asked, not having seen the awkward position of her friend’s legs… or the look that Rarity was giving her.
No response.
“ Yer not gonna start ignorin’ us, are ya?”
Silence.
“ Rainbow, please. We only want to help you.” Rarity tried her luck, opting to ask about her friend’s weird posture later rather than sooner.
Rainbow Dash turned her head slightly but still remained silent.
“ At least we know her ears are workin’.” Applejack said to Rarity despite the obvious dislike showing on her face at having been ignored.
Still not a word came from Rainbow Dash, though she did close her eyes and bite her lip. She hated being this silent, especially around Applejack. But her mind was still trying to figure out what was going on around her. And having Applejack ignore her subtle messages, that was starting to tear at her as well. Having Rarity there also wasn’t helping keep her calm. She was just surprised that she hadn’t blown up in Rarity’s face yet.
“ True. But she is still worrying me. Especially with how her legs are.” Rarity replied, making Rainbow tense up at the mention of her legs. “ Please tell us if you are hurt, Rainbow Dash. We are all worried about you.”
“ And we have been ever since I found your guitar case lying in the hallway because I was trying to stop you so that I could tell you that you left your bag behind in the music room but you were gone by the time I went to try and stop you and by gone I mean you vanished!”
This new voice was so obviously hyped up with sugar that it was almost impossible to understand what was being said. And that was despite the fact that it was being said fairly clearly. Regardless of that fact, however, it scared Rainbow Dash into finally falling to the floor in fright, screaming out as she did so. After a few seconds of settling her racing heart, Rainbow looked up to find Pinkie Pie standing on the other side of where she had been sitting. And, judging from the sound of running feet, the others weren’t that far behind.
“ Sorry, Dashie. Didn’t mean to scare you. I was just so excited that we found you that I couldn’t help but pop up beside you.” The party lover said, offering a hand in order to help Dash back onto her feet.
“ I don’t need your help, Pinkie.” Dash grumbled, turning herself over so that her legs were once more in front of her and not crumbled underneath her.
The words did sting a little, Rainbow knew just by looking at the girl’s face, but she knew that if she accepted the help, she would have just fallen again anyway. It pained her to hurt her friends, but it had to be done… at least for this, it did. Thing was, Dash also knew that she was being watched like a hawk by every one of the girls that looked just like her friends.
Forcibly ignoring their confused and worried stares, she shuffled herself back over to the chairs and swung herself back into her seat, closing her eyes so that she didn’t have to face any questions. Sadly, she couldn’t close her ears to the questions that still came.
“ Darling, what happened to your legs?”
“ Oh, dear. You’re not hurt are you?”
“ So that’s why you refused my hand.”
“ There has to be a logical explanation. But I just can’t fathom why Rainbow Dash is acting this way.”
“ Why do I get the feeling that magic has something to do with this?”
“ Oh, I hope no one’s done anything bad to Rainbow Dash.”
“ Ah jus’ wanna know what the hay is goin’ on!”
To be honest, so did Rainbow Dash. Applejack’s words were the very words that were surrounding the group at that moment. And everyone was turning to Rainbow Dash for answers. But that was exactly what Rainbow Dash didn’t have. She was just as confused as everyone else, if not more. Her brain was almost at exploding point and she didn’t want these people around when it finally did explode. Finally, after what felt like forever, Vice-Principal Luna returned with a self-propelled wheelchair in hand, which she parked in front of the rainbow haired girl.
“ You’re in luck, Rainbow Dash. Nurse Redheart had this in storage for some reason. We’ve given it a clean, but it should still be useable for you.” The teacher explained once she was close enough.
“ Thanks, VP.” Rainbow replied, before hoisting herself from the stationary chair and into the wheelchair.
The wheelchair was a basic design, reminding everyone of something the hospital would give out. The padding was a plastic like blue fabric and the body was made out of steel. The foot rests were steel and there was no strip of fabric connecting the two so that the legs did not fall underneath the chair. The back of the chair didn’t even fold up for easy storage. But, considering the circumstances, Rainbow was happy that she was finally able to move. And that’s what she did as she finally turned to the group of students that looked so much like her friends.
“ Listen. I don’t know anything. I’m just as confused as you are, so stop bugging me about this. Right now, I need to figure out how to get back. For all I know, my friends are still in danger.” She growled as she slowly made her way past the girls. Then she turned to Applejack, a pained look in her eyes. “ And you… why did you have to look so much like her.”
With that, Rainbow raced down the hallway towards the front of the school, leaving behind seven very confused faces.